Which to use
“crease” and “crosse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,303
- “crease” frequency rank
- #33,192
- “crosse” frequency rank
- 52495
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crease | crosse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A line or mark made by folding or doubling any pliable substance; hence, a similar mark, however produced. | A lacrosse stick. |
Letter map: crease vs crosse
Shared letters muted; letters that set crease and crosse apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. crease (CCVVCV) and crosse (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Pair insight - crease / crosse
crease and crosse are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crease is recorded at frequency rank #19,303, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹiːs/. crosse is at rank #33,192, tagged as anoun.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 52495, this pair ranks #156,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of crease vs crosse
Shared letters: cers. Private to "crease": a. Private to "crosse": o.
"crease" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "crosse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "crease" and "crosse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "crease" or "crosse"?
What to do next
You've compared "crease" and "crosse". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "crease" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crosse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crease" and "crosse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crone vs crosse". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #156,546 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.